Tuesday, May 29, 2012

It is essential to determine the cleanliness of food processing equipment and manufacturing areas before they are used for food production. Luminometers help processors monitor surfaces that may contaminate food products and compromise product safety and quality.

Visual assessment is commonly used to evaluate surface cleanliness, but it is subjective and unreliable. It needs to be combined with other testing methods (including luminometers) to ensure food contact surfaces are clean. Luminometers provide rapid, real-time data to help processors assess and validate the hygienic status of food contact surfaces. Surface cleanliness can be evaluated in seconds using a luminometer to measure residual amounts of the chemical marker adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is a compound found in all types of plant, animal and microbial cells.

The science behind the luminometer is based on the enzyme luciferase – the same enzyme that makes firefly tails glow at night. Residual ATP interacts with luciferase to generate light. This light is measured by the luminometer and is recorded in relative light units (RLU). The amount of light generated is directly proportional to the amount of ATP present – an indication of the total biological contamination level.

If you are a food manufacturer or a produce grower/packer and want more infomation on ATP testing, send us an e-mail.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

American C.H.E.F. Consulting now offers Hygiena's complete line of ATP Testing systems.Hygiena is a microbiology and life
science company with over 30 years of experience in developing rapid solutions
for the food & beverage, healthcare and life science industries. With
offices and manufacturing facilities in the USA, United Kingdom and over 80
distributors worldwide, Hygiena's products are used around the world by leading
blue chip companies as well as many small and medium sized enterprises.ATP monitoring is in widespread use within the United Kingdom and United States,
where the devices are used to both monitor and audit ward hygiene, as detection
tools for Infection Control and CSSD departments and as part of deep clean
validate by nursing staff. CONTACT US FOR INFORMATION ON THE HYGIENA ATP TESTING SYSTEMS.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 18, 2012 - River Ranch Fresh Foods,
LLC of Salinas, CA is initiating a voluntary recall of retail and foodservice
bagged salads, because they have the potential of being contaminated with
Listeria monocytogenes following routine random retail salad finished product
tests conducted in the marketplace by the Food & Drug Administration.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and
sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and
others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer
only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea,
abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and
stillbirths among pregnant women.

Retail salad products under this
recall were distributed nationwide under various sizes and packaged under the
brand names of River Ranch, Farm Stand, Hy-Vee, Marketside, Shurfresh, and The
Farmer’s Market.

Foodservice salad products under this recall were
distributed nationwide under various sizes and packaged under the brand names of
River Ranch, Cross Valley, Fresh n Easy, Promark, and Sysco.

The
recalled retail and foodservice salad bags have either “Best By” code dates
between 12MAY2012 – 22MAY2012 or Julian dates between 116 – 125. The code date
is typically located in the upper right hand corner of the bags.

See
attached list for the specific salad products, size, package type, UPC codes and
states of distribution.

No other products, brands or code dates aside
from those listed below are affected by this recall.

There have been
NO reported illnesses associated with this recall. We are
working closely with the Food & Drug Administration and California
Department of Public Health.

Consumers who have purchased this product
should not consume it and are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a
full refund. Consumers with questions can contact River Ranch at their 24-hour
customer service center at 1-800-762-7708.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Hygiena ATP test equipment seen on "Hotel
Impossible" this week. Our firm is now a marketing partner offering all Hygiena products. Great for hotels/motels, health care,
restaurants, food processors. You really have to watch the video from this week's Travel Channel.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 4, 2012) - Cleveland Beansprouts Co. of Cleveland, OH is
recalling all alfalfa sprouts because they may be contaminated with Listeria
monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal
infections to individuals with weakened immune systems. Although healthy
individuals may suffer only short term symptoms such as high fever, severe
headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can
cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.All alfalfa sprouts produced by Cleveland Beansprouts are being recalled.
There are no lot codes or any other identifier on the product. The alfalfa
sprouts were only distributed in Ohio.The contamination was discovered by the Ohio Department of Agriculture while
collecting and testing samples under the United States Department of
Agriculture’s Microbiological Data Program. No illnesses have been reported to
date.Consumers who have purchased alfalfa sprouts produced by Cleveland Beansprout
should discard them. be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Hosted by local Chiropractic Physician, Dr. James Grilliot, Discover Wellness with Dr. G offers to educate listeners in various aspects of nutrition, health and wellness. Click here to go to the WLOH Radio archived broadcasts.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

"Healthy Habits with Chef Johnny" on WLOH radio in Lancaster, OH with Dr. "G". Recently I had the pleasure of recording several radio interviews with a dear friend, Dr. James Grilliot. He is an advocate of Natural Wellness and has a clinic in Lancaster, OH, but, reaches nationwide with his message. To listen to two of the radio interviews regarding "Healthy Habits", click on this link and scroll down to two of the radio shows aired on WLOH radio in Lancaster,OH. For more information on health and wellness, visit Dr. G's web site or post your comments on this blog. Here's to your health! http://bit.ly/IL9WBJ